Your chakras are amazingly powerful energy centers because they interact with the creative energy around you. When these chakras are working properly, your creative manifesting energy can flow better, leading to more success, happiness and fulfillment.

Here is a simple and effective meditation technique you can use today, to open and activate your chakras for the better:

Part I: Tuning In

1. Find a comfortable place to sit.

Find a place where you will be able to focus without distraction. You can sit on a cushion with your legs crossed on if this is comfortable for you. If you prefer, the meditation can be done while seated in a chair. Make sure that your feet are placed firmly on the ground.

2. Align your posture.

When taking your seat in meditation, bring your attention into your body. Straighten the spine, the main energy highway of the body. Lift your head so that the crown is pointed towards the sky. Tuck your chin. Roll your shoulders back. This ensures that the spine is in a neutral position. Neutral alignment of the spine allows your energy to flow freely through the body.

3. Close your eyes.

Every action, even the most subtle, influences our energy field. When you close your eyes, your attention draws inward. Energy flows where attention goes. To enhance the effectiveness of the meditation, roll your eyes slightly upwards while they are closed. This activates the higher brain and gets you more in tune with your energy field.

A more advanced technique is to place the tip of your tongue on the roof of your mouth behind your teeth. This simple gesture creates a connection between two major energy meridians in the energy field. Strange as it may sound, holding your tongue right can increase the flow of energy and make concentration easier.

4. Focus on your breathing.

In through the nose, out through the mouth. Breathe into your belly and keep your shoulders relaxed. Our breath is our main source of vital energy. When we connect consciously with our breathing and slow it down, our flow of energy becomes more steady and coherent. Our aura literally comes into focus.

5. Let the breath lead the energy.

When inhaling, pull the breath all the way down to the tailbone, all the way to the tips of the toes. When exhaling, feel your breath pulsing back out of the body, leaving a sense of peace and relaxation. Take a few breaths while feeling this pulse, tuning in to the flow of energy.

Part II: Activating

1. Root Chakra

The root chakra is our connection to earth and to the body. Picture the energy of your root chakra as a ball of ruby light centered on the base of your spine. With each breath, see this ball becoming larger. Watch the color become richer and more vital. Allow this red light to fill your entire body, deepening with each breath and saturating your aura. Feel the solidity of the earth filling you, bringing steadiness and stability.

2. Sacral Chakra

The sacral chakra is our connection to water and creativity. See the energy of your sacral chakra as a ball of rich orange light, centered along the spine even with the hips. With each inhalation, see this ball expand, allowing the rich orange color of the sacral chakra to fill your aura. Allow it to become richer and fuller with each breath. Feel the orange light of the sacral chakra invigorating you, awakening power, sexuality, and creativity.

3. Solar Plexus Chakra

The solar plexus chakra is associated with self-esteem and with a sense of personal power. Visualize the golden light of your solar plexus chakra as an orb poised along the spine and level with your solar plexus. With each inhalation, see this orb expanding, filling your aura with golden-yellow energy. With each exhalation, release all tension and fear that has been blocking your self-expression. Feel a sense of lightness and freedom fill you as the golden light of this chakra saturates your aura.

4. Heart Chakra

The heart chakra is the center of healing and emotion. This is the point in our energy that connects us to each living creature and being in the universe. See the heart chakra as a ball of soft green light in the center of your chest. Feel the warmth of this light as it expands to fill your entire body, your entire aura. This energy brings the feeling of compassion and love. As your aura becomes saturated with the green light of the heart chakra, feel any blockages to self-love loosening and becoming washed away. You are beautiful and perfect right now, exactly as you are. When we accept and love ourselves unconditionally, we invite healing energy into our lives. We establish a foundation that meaningful relationships can be built upon.

5. Throat Chakra

The throat chakra is the center of our voice and our will. Picture a light-blue ball of light centered on your throat. With each inhalation, see this ball of light expand, filling your aura with the color of the sky. Feel the openness that enters your field along with the light-blue energy. The throat chakra is the energy of self-expression and manifestation. When you open this chakra, it becomes easier to speak your truth and to bring your desires into being.

6. Third Eye

The third eye is the center of sight and understanding. Visualize a dark-blue ball of light, the color of the night sky, directly between your eyes. See this light expanding with each breath, washing away blockages. Allow your entire aura to become saturated with dark-blue light. Feel any confusion and uncertainty slipping away, replaced by energy of clarity and perception.

The crown chakra is the center of our connection with the spiritual, with guidance, serenity, and faith. See your crown chakra as a sphere of violet light, centered at the crow of your head. Breathe in violet light, seeing this chakra expand. Visualize violet light filling and saturating your aura, extending outwards from you to connect with every aspect of your existence. You are one with all that is. Feel the energy of faith and connection putting all feelings of fear and aloneness to rest. You are part of the living universe, intimately connected with all that is on the deepest level.

Part III: Coming Back

Sit with this for as long as you like, feeling your chakras open and your aura full of vital energy. Pay attention to the sensations within your body, in your hands and feet. Take note of any emotions or thoughts that come about during this time. When our energy is flowing without obstruction, we have access to levels of intuition and connection beyond those of everyday experience.

When it is time to end the meditation, give a brief thanks to your energy and spirit. Then see the energy of each chakra becoming more concentrated, focused in a smaller area. See the energy of your aura weaving together, becoming healthy and tightly formed. This helps you to encounter the chaotic energies of life without becoming unbalanced.

This meditation can be done as often as you like. Your concentration and visualization will improve with each meditation. As you develop skill with this practice, you will sense the energy of each chakra more clearly and powerfully. Next article will focus on grounding your energy field.